Heatherly Bell - This Baby Business

Levi. Right on time. Great. Carly shot up from her chair, but she didn’t know if she should take Grace with her to answer the door. What if something happened to her in the two seconds Carly would be out of the room? And what would Levi think? But if she picked Grace up now, she risked opening the door with her crying again. That also wouldn’t look too good.

The doorbell rang again. Impatient man!

Carly picked Grace up off the blanket again like a delicate china plate, taking the blanket along.

“Please don’t cry, baby. I need to make a good impression. You don’t know this, but you and I could be partners. I know you don’t like me, but to be fair, the feeling is mutual. You threw up on me and I know you were aiming for my eye. Don’t even try to deny it.”

So far not a peep from Grace, who had a piece of the blanket in her mouth and seemed to be gumming it. She was going to write a glowing review for this blanket and title it Lifesaver.

Carly opened the door to Levi, as suspected, and watched as his gaze went immediately to Grace. The way those blue eyes lit up gave Carly a little smackdown right in the chest, but then he noticed the dress.

“You changed her?”

“Do you like it?” When he didn’t answer, she waved him inside. “It’s a new dress and my gift to you both. And also, she spit up on two other outfits.”

“Uh, thanks. And sorry. Welcome to my world.”

Grace’s little legs kicked and pumped double time with some serious action at seeing Levi, and Carly handed her over.

“Hey, baby girl.” His love-struck smile was quite a sight.

Carly cleared her throat and got ready to tell a big fat lie. “She was perfect today.”

“Yeah?” Levi checked Grace out from head to toe as if to make sure she wasn’t missing any parts.

Carly tried not to feel insulted. “Do you like the dress?”

“Sure, it’s...nice.”

“But?”

“Not too practical.”

This was interesting information she could use, so she walked to the kitchen to get a pad of paper and pen from the counter. “So how would you rate it, say, on a scale of one to ten? If you were going to judge the dress, for instance?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “I appreciate the dress. I’m not judging it.”

“No, of course not. I...didn’t mean to imply that.”

She made a note on the pad of paper. Appearance: ten out of ten. Practical use? She needed Levi for that, because at the moment he had more experience with babies than Carly did. When it came to her own clothes and sense of fashion, Carly always erred on the side of appearance versus practicality. She’d once lost the feeling in her feet for a day because of a gorgeous pair of paisley-patterned five-inch-heeled Louis Vuitton boots, but it had been worth the agony.

She could see it would be different with a baby.

“It’s just that she looks uncomfortable.” He shifted her from one hip to the other.

“You’re so right. There was something bothering me about the dress, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.”

Liar. She was completely useless. Practical use: five out of ten. Six out of ten? She didn’t want to be unfair. “No one makes cute, stylish and comfortable clothes for babies, do they?”

“But...she really seems to like this blanket.” He removed a corner of it from Grace’s mouth and handed it to Carly.

If this all worked out, she would need the miracle worker again tomorrow.

Levi picked up the car seat and diaper bag from the foyer. “Thanks again. We should get going.”

“Wait!”

She’d pretty much shouted the word, but rather than appear startled, he seemed slightly amused by her, his mouth twitching in a half smile. “Right. Sorry, I forgot to pay you.” He set the car seat down and, impressively juggling Grace, pulled a wallet from his back pocket.

“No.” She put out her hand to stop him. “Today was a freebie.”

Slow down, you don’t need to scare the man off. Take your time and do this right.

“Freebie?”

“How about... How about a drink of water before you go?”

“I’m just next door.” Levi tucked his wallet away.

“This will only take a minute. How about a beer?” She led the way to the kitchen, hoping with any luck he’d follow.

He did. And stood in the framed opening of the kitchen entryway, holding Grace with an easy assurance she envied. Like a real pro. “Actually, do you know any babysitters you could recommend?”

Sometimes, when opportunity knocks, you shouldn’t just open the door. Open the door, go make a pot of coffee and bake some cookies. Maybe it will stay awhile.

She swallowed and gave him what she hoped was her best, most dependable babysitter smile. “Me.” She twisted off the top, then handed the beer to him.

He accepted it. “But you said just for today.”

She waved a hand in the air, in a pay-no-attention-to-me-before-noon move. “That was before. Okay, here’s the thing. I can help you, and let’s be honest here, you need me.”

He studied Carly, took a swig of his beer, but didn’t say a word. Maybe Rookie Daddy had finally wised up and decided he shouldn’t leave his baby with a complete stranger. He got points for that.

Carly chose her next words carefully. “I kind of have this baby advice website.”

“I heard.”

Of course. If he worked at the airport, he worked with Cassie. And Cassie was an old friend of the family. Carly let out a breath. “I’m running the baby website RockYourBaby, but I don’t have any kids of my own.”

“Heard that, too.” He quirked an eyebrow, and in that single move Carly realized he was less than thrilled with the fact that she hadn’t come out with the whole truth this morning.

But she hadn’t exactly lied. What did her mom’s accountant say? Emphasize the positive, ignore the negative. Sell it! “But I’m still a baby expert.”

“Uh-huh.” He didn’t sound too convinced.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I can watch Grace until you find a new sitter. If you’re not sure about me, I’d be happy to give you references. I’ve lived here in Fortune all my life, and I’m extremely reliable. I’m always home. Besides, I’m right next door.”

“And how will you watch her and run your company?”

This suddenly felt like an interview, and she wished she’d prepared better. She’d done too much assuming that Levi would immediately take her up on this idea. But she’d become better at selling in the past few months, out of sheer necessity. If she told a little white lie every now and again, no one was the wiser.

Balance. It was all about balance. She’d do it as mothers all over the country did. Like the readers of her blog did. Like her mother had.

“I can handle her. I’m great at time management.” Boy, the lies kept coming, didn’t they? Getting easier, too. “And also, Grace—and babies everywhere, in fact—happens to be a big part of my career. Because babies are my business.”

She did a chin lift on that one, as she’d noticed Jill do on a number of occasions when she wanted to make the point that she was hot shit.

Levi seemed to notice and maybe even appreciate the new confidence. His shoulders lowered, and he gave her another one of those slow, sexy smiles. “It would be a big help to me. I’m out of the air force recently. Originally from Texas.”

Hence the drawl. She pictured hot and humid plains, oil, ranches and cowboys. Levi didn’t look like a cowboy, even if he sort of sounded like one. And something told her that it was just a matter of time before Levi knew a lot of people in the area—mainly those of the female persuasion.

“I know a lot of people in Fortune,” Carly said. “I’m practically a fixture here. And I can try to find you the perfect babysitter.”